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Chapter 12- Leo and Cat

Leo's POV

"What about this one?"

I looked up as Cat strode into the shop again from the dressing rooms, wearing one of about a hundred dresses she'd taken in with her. Chaise had announced that her and Manuel were to be wed in December, and of course; we were invited. Somehow, we'd wound up in a dress shop despite the fact the wedding was still four months away. 

"You look as beautiful as you did in the last one,"  I commented, rather unhelpfully. She pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, cocking her head to one side. 

"If I knew you were actually just going to sit around rather than offer valid opinions, I would have forced one of the girls to fly over and help me pick something," she said. I sighed and observed her again, more closely this time. 

"I don't think you suit that colour," I tried, gesturing to the red dress she had on. Don't get me wrong, she still looked bloody amazing. "Try something more blue." 

She nodded, lips set in a determined line, and hurried out into the shop to start looking for something 'more blue'. I chuckled to myself. She was acting as if she was never diagnosed...

"Shut up," I warned myself. Cat had been discharged from the hospital little over a month ago and had seemed as if nothing had ever gone wrong. But I suppose that was the right way to act if you had cancer though, right? Positively? I mean, she was getting chemo and radio therapy for it. She was fighting and had shown no signs of losing the battle just yet. Why shouldn't she be trying to live the way she had before?

"Leo?"

She peeked her head out between the curtains of her changing cubicle. I hadn't realised she'd already returned. Blinking in confusion, I answered: "Yeah?"

"Um... What about this one?"

She stepped out, rubbing her arms shyly, and I swear my draw dropped to the floor. The dress was sapphire blue, a silky-looking material that came just below her knees, and sparkled as if it was made with lighter blue stars. It had a heart-shaped neckline, no straps, and hugged her figure perfectly. Simple, the way she suited best.

"You look-" I swallowed, hard "- absolutely amazing."

"You said that about the last dress," she mumbled. I shook my head, wringing my hands in my lap and trying to force moisture back into my dry mouth.

"I mean it," I said, firmly, "this is the one."

She smiled, not a grin or a smirk but a genuine one, and pulled her hair over her shoulders. Her beloved necklace glinted at her throat. 

"I love you," I found myself saying. 

"I love you too," she answered, like every other time I'd told her. 

"No, I mean that I really love you. All of you. That necklace of yours, your big blue eyes, your skin, that little freckle on your back, your long fingers, the way you laugh, how your hair curls, the way your lips part when you breathe, how you smile, how you walk, your voice. How you love to have hot chocolate with your breakfast, how Halo is your favourite Xbox game, your love for football and wolves and penguins, the crazy animals you want for pets, your slightly worrying love for Luke Hemmings and 5 Seconds of Summer, your onesies... Everything about you, I love it all. And I want you to hear me say that I always will love that about you and more, and I will continue to love new things about you I haven't yet fully noticed, and that I will fight with you through this battle-"

"Leo-"

"- And we'll win because you're stronger than you know, you're smarter than you think and wiser beyond your years. You're more amazing that you know yourself to be. And God forgive me but I want to wake up and see you beside me every day, every hour, any time. I want to always remember the way you fit against me. I want to sing with you, dance with you, play with you... I want to spend my life with you. We've only been together the best part of a few months but I don't care. I am in love with you, Catalina Aracelle Sanchez. And one day, if you'd like it, I want to share my name with you. I want you to be Catalina Messi. I want my name on the back of your Barcelona and  Argentina shirts to be your name to, if you'll have me. One day we'll be like that, whenever you want. I'll wait if I need to. I love you."